M4.5 earthquake 152 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 152 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Thu, Dec 31, 1987, 4:08 PM GMT+11 (05:08 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.6 131 km W of Sola, Vanuatu. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-12-31 05:08:33 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 13.371° S, 166.238° E
- Region
- Vanuatu
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 1 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayVanuatu earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003bpe. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 8:36 AM UTC.